Fri October 11, 2013

A recent hazing incident involving more than 100 students at Seattle's Garfield High School has many wondering how such a thing can become part of a school's tradition in a district with a zero-tolerance policy.

According to the police report, the victims were driven to the Washington Park Arboretum where more than 100 students and a keg of beer were present. There, they were paddled and "forced to drink shots of hard liquor" until at least one of them was very intoxicated, the report said. Eleven students have been temporarily expelled while both school officials and police investigate.

Seattle Public Schools spokesperson Teresa Wippel said hazing has become a tradition at Garfield High, which has a long history of such incidents. According to veteran psychologist Susan Lipkins, what begins as a benign initiation ritual can easily evolve into a dangerous culture over time.

student hazing

3:58 pm

Mon October 7, 2013

Seattle’s Garfield High School has temporarily expelled 11 students following a mass hazing incident last month.

The students face emergency expulsion, which means the action isn't disciplinary in nature; instead, its aim is to get students off of campus as quickly as possible to allow school officials to investigate.

student hazing

4:19 pm

Tue October 1, 2013

Seattle school officials are looking into a mass hazing incident involving more than 100 Garfield High School students at Seattle’s Arboretum Friday night.

In an email to parents, Garfield High Principal Ted Howard said students were hitting each other with paddles, throwing eggs and drinking beer. Students were also found covered in shoe polish and wearing diapers.

When Howard arrived on the scene, one of the students called him the N-word. Howard is black.